"Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" Amber Benson turns author

June 19, 2009 8:31:50 PM PDT

June 22, 2009 --

Amber Benson, who earned a large following for her popular role as Tara Maclay on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has launched a trilogy of novels geared towards young women. Death's Daughter tells the story of Calliope, a girl torn between an immortal life helping her father run Death, Inc., and a normal human existence. When Callie chooses to leave the family business behind and pursue a career in fashion, she finds herself in a dead end job, relegated to a life of perpetual stasis. That is, until someone kidnaps her father, the CEO of Death, Inc., as well as Callie's older sister Thalia. Now it's up to Callie to find her father and sister, while trying to keep the business running smoothly. If she fails, Callie dooms her family to morality and allows the Devil to choose the new head of Death, Inc.

"Death's Daughter is my take on the classic Hero's Journey, but told from the female perspective," Benson says. I tried to create a flawed, female protagonist who??even though she makes some really selfish choices during the course of the book??still makes the reader root for her to learn and grow from her experiences."

Following the publication of Death's Daughter, Benson's children's book for Simon and Schuster, The New Newbridge Academy, will be released later this year. Prior to the Calliope Reaper-Jones trilogy, Benson co-wrote and directed the animated web-series, Ghosts of Albion, (with Christopher Golden) for the BBC, then novelized the series in two books for Random House. As an actress, Benson spent three seasons as Tara Maclay on the cult show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She has also written, produced and directed three feature films, including her latest, Drones, which she co-directed with Adam Busch (Warren Meers on "Buffy") and will be released later this year. Benson will also be seen next year in "Another Harvest Moon," which stars Ernest Borgnine, Piper Laurie and Cybil Shepard.